Tales of the Originals
by heartoftheshadow
Summary: A series of one shots involving the history of the Mikaelson family.
1. Lies my Brother Told Me

Tales of the Originals

Chapter 1: Lies my Brother Told Me

"Hide and seek? Fine by me," Kol announced, running through a clearing in the woods, looking for his sister Rebekah.

It wasn't long before he spotted a little girl, no older than the age of six, sitting on the ground with her back slumped up against a tree. Her pale, straight blonde hair was a dead giveaway; he'd found his sister. Spotting him out of the corner of her eye, she jerked her head over to the left and moved over a little, refusing to admit she'd been found. "Bekah, I can see you!" Kol laughed.

Rebekah stood up in a pout, turning around to face her brother, her arms folded. She met Kol's dark brown eyes, and spotted a childish grin on his face. Kol had an appreciation for mischief that no one else in their family had, not even their brothers, Niklaus, Elijah and Finn.

"Father sent me. He said it's time to eat, and you know how he gets when things don't go his way."

Rebekah sighed. She hated that their game was over already. Their father was always insuring that no one would ever have time to play.

Kol offered his baby sister his hand, and gave her a sympathetic smile. The kind of smile that said, _hey cheer up kiddo_. "We'll play tomorrow Bekah. You have my word."

Rebekah still looked disastisfied. Kol paused. "Race you back home?"

Her face slowly lit up. Before Kol could even open up his mouth again, Rebekah had already run past him. "Hey, no fair, I don't remember giving you a headstart!"


	2. Kol's Transition

Author's Note: This chapter is set before _The Death of Esther. _

Kol Mikaelson awoke in a daze. He stared down at his tunic, which was now heavily stained with his own blood, and featured a tore in the fabric from where his father stabbed him. Then something occurred to Kol. His father _stabbed_ him. He ran his sword through his chest and pierced his heart. He remembered collapsing to the ground afterwards, gasping for air only moments earlier. Something wasn't right. He should be dead right now, or at the very least, in great pain. But Kol felt no pain at all. Only hunger. He was very, very hungry.

Kol got to his feet, his vision blurred. But he could've swore he saw his murderous father standing before him, holding a young woman by the back of her hair. The woman squirmed but Mikael restrained her by placing his sword to her bare throat, threatening to cut. "We must finish what we started Kol! You have to drink her blood if you expect to live!" Mikael announced, the woman's breathing becoming so heavy that it was irritating Kol.

Then Kol realized he wasn't only hearing her breathing. He could also hear her heart beating, rapidly, pounding against her chest. "Hurry up, we haven't got all day!" Mikael bellowed.

Impatiently, Mikael began to slice open the village woman's throat, scarlet liquid emerging from the fresh wound. Kol didn't understand, but he had the strong urge to drink her blood. Something inside him told him that the blood would satisfy his hunger.

Mikael took his sword away from the woman's throat and dropped it to the ground. Allowing his instincts to kick in, Kol bolted over to the woman's bleeding neck, and stuck out his tongue, licking the blood that spilled from the cut his father made. The woman squirmed uncomfortably, which only made Mikael's grip on her hair tighten.

Kol closed his mouth and wrapped his arms around the woman's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Mikael released his hold on the woman, allowing Kol to take her completely. Kol reopened his mouth, revealing two razor sharp fangs where his canines used to be. His eyes darkened, and his veins pressed up against the surface of his skin, becoming visible to all. He pressed the tips of his fangs against the woman's carotid artery, breaking the skin and forcing more blood to pool to the surface.

_Moments Later..._

"What's wrong with me, mother, I can't.. I can't tap into my power any more," Kol was panicking, looking into his mother's eyes, hoping she could give him answers. "And all I can think about is blood. I don't understand. What has happened to me?!"

Esther took a deep breathe, glancing back at the body of a young woman who's blood Kol had drank to complete the transition moments earlier. Mikael had left them to be alone, at her request, though she wasn't sure what she could say to console her son. "Your father drove a sword through your heart and killed you Kol. He killed your brothers too. And your sister Rebekah. I wished he was more gentle about it. The others, they've already drank. You were the last one to rise. You had to die so I could cast a spell to make you all immortal."

"Immortal? Mother, immortality is unnatural! It's against the very laws of Nature, the Spirits surely wouldn't allow you to give your children ever lasting life without there being grave consequences," Kol paused. "Which is why I crave blood. Why I can't feel my magic, my connection to the Earth. That was the price. Your spell and my newfound immortality is paid for in blood!"

Esther remained calm, even as her youngest son was having a crisis. "I'm sorry you lost your magic Kol. I'm so, so sorry. I had to do something. I couldn't watch another one of my children die. Not after Henrik."

Kol tried to calm himself as well, but his emotions were simply too overwhelming. Far more powerful than what they had ever been before he died. "I didn't want this mother. I still don't! Take it back, make me a Häxa again. My life is mine to do what I wish with."

"I won't. Kol, now you can be with your brothers and sister forever. And you'll never die. This is a blessing, and you must be more grateful."

"Grateful?!" Kol spat. "I killed a woman today. That woman whose body lies near you mother."

"Calm yourself Kol. Yes, the bloodlust was an unfortunate consequence. But I imagine it will fade with time. Or at the very least, become more manageable."

Kol was fuming, but it was no use. Like it or not, this was his new reality.


	3. The Death of Esther

Niklaus Mikaelson had never felt so broken and humiliated. He was fuming, clenching his fists, his veins pressing up against his face. Fresh blood drizzled down from his nose. He stared his mother Esther in the eye, waiting for her to speak. Slowly, Esther walked toward her son, but Klaus stepped backwards, refusing to let her get any closer to him.

Esther held out her hand towards her son, tears streaming down her face. "Niklaus, you don't understand-"

"**How, could you**?!" Klaus bellowed. "How could you do this to me.. to Tatia. She never harmed you, she never even entertained the notion!"

Esther shook her head solemnly. "She didn't. She was an innocent in all of this. It had to be her, her blood, her life.. only she could bound your werewolf side Niklaus."

"Why her?" Klaus asked, a tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Because I loved her?"

"No. The night your father-Mikael, killed you, and your siblings, you drank wine. The wine.. was laced with Tatia's blood. It was Tatia's blood that made you what you are now. An immortal. I didn't mean for you to become an immortal wolf, had I allowed you to stay one you would be too dangerous, too-"

Before Esther could finish, Klaus extended his right arm and grabbed Esther by the throat. "I won't hear any more of this! Any more excuses! You took her from me!"

Klaus' grip on his mother's neck began to tighten. She could hardly breathe. "Niklaus... please..." Esther begged, her life slowly slipping away from her as she spoke. Her ordinarily pale skin was now turning a bright red. Esther struggled, placing her hands around Klaus' wrist, trying in vain to free herself. But it was no use. He was far stronger than she could ever hope to be, especially now. Drool pooled from her mouth, running down her chin as she whimpered, looking into her son's eyes pleadingly.

Klaus lifted his mother up into the air still with one hand around her delicate throat, Esther no longer fighting back. In fact, she had stopped breathing altogether.

Suddenly worried, Klaus released his grip on Esther, dropping his mother to the ground below. Her lips turned a dark shade of blue, her eyes bulging out in a way that looked positively unnatural. Klaus leaned over cautiously, approaching his mother's still body. He closed his eyes and let his sense of hearing take over. He waited to hear his mother's heart beat, but the hut was completely and utterly silent. His mother was dead, and he had killed her.

"Mother," Klaus whispered. "No... no.."

Klaus placed his hands over his eyes. His head was now pounding despite feeling just fine moments ago. He felt sick to his stomach. He didn't mean to kill her. But no one would believe that. Especially not his "father", Mikael. Klaus hated the thought of being known as the monster who killed his own mother. He couldn't let anyone find out. No one could know the truth.

_I can fix this, _Klaus thought to himself. _Father knew of her lover. Everyone knows he had quite the temper. No one would question it. _With that thought, Klaus redirected his attention back towards his mother's fresh corpse.

Klaus placed his hand over his mother's chest, where her non-beating heart would be. He took a deep breathe, plunging his hand into her chest, tearing through the flesh. He wrapped his fingers around his mother's heart when he was sure he had it, ripping it out without a moment's hesitation. His entire hand was now drenched in his mother's blood. He wanted to vomit.

Klaus stood up and dropped his mother's dead heart next to her body. Now he just had to clean the blood off himself before anyone saw, and all would be well.

_Moments Later..._

Klaus and his siblings gathered around Esther's corpse, inside the hut where he had murdered her hours earlier. Elijah appeared stoic, refusing to show emotion one way or the other. Rebekah's face was soaked in her own tears, adding to Klaus' guilt. Kol eyed his mother's body intently, not openly crying, yet Klaus could tell, in his own way, his troublesome little brother was mourning the loss of their mother. And Finn, seemed more confused than anything else. Lost, almost.

"You're certain," Finn started, breaking the silence. "Niklaus, that it was our father that did this. That," Finn swallowed. "Killed mother."

"Yes," Klaus stated firmly. "He wanted to rip her heart out, as she did to him when he discovered her betrayal."

"Monster," Rebekah whispered.

"He'll pay for this," Finn said, the anger very apparent in his voice. "For killing mother. We'll see to that."

"How do you propose we do that?" Elijah jumped in. "Mother's magic made all of us immortal, including father. The only thing that could kill him, that could kill us... was the wood from the tree we destroyed the other night. Any attempts to harm father would be pointless."

"Then you would just have him get away with it?!"

"That's not what I'm saying at all Finn," Elijah replied calmly. "But I'm not going to go to greath lengths to try and snuff the life of a man who cannot be killed. A man who quite frankly, frightens all of us."

Finn shook his head. "This is nonsense. Niklaus, Rebekah, Kol, surely you agree with me," Finn said, looking around the hut, waiting for the response from his siblings. The three remained silent.

Finn relented. "Fine. But I no longer want to be a part of this family of abominations," he stated bitterly. He turned around, his back to his family, and left the hut.


	4. Rebekah and Kol: Parting Ways

Author's Note: This particular chapter is set the night before Esther's burial that we saw in flashbacks in _The Vampire Diaries, 3x08 Ordinary People._ It also occurs shortly after the events of the previous chapter, _The Death of Esther. _

Rebekah stood outside the hut, waiting for her brother Kol to come out. He and their mother's friend, the witch Ayana had been in there for the last hour or so together, preforming a ritual on her mother's corpse that would ensure its preservation for all time. All of them hated the thought of their mother simply rotting in the ground for years on end until nothing is left but a small pile of dust. Rebekah brushed the dark thought out of her mind. _It was all going to be okay_, she told herself silently. She knew she was going to lose her mother someday, she just never imagined it would be so soon. She still didn't want to believe that her mother was gone. That she would never hug her again, or see her face, or hear her voice.

Suddenly, a crouched over Kol stepped out of the hut. Kol then stood up straight, and looked into his sister's eyes, still wet from the tears she shed only moments earlier for their mother. Instinctively, Kol approached Rebekah and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, hugging her. She laid her head on his shoulder as they hugged, and began to cry all over again. "Shh... it's going to be alright now Bekah. Mother's at peace. There's no need to shed any more tears."

Rebekah tried to pull herself together as best she could, breaking away from her brother and wiping her tears away. "Nik and Elijah will be back in the morning to help bury her. They just went out to get some air," Rebekah said softly.

Kol nodded. "I'm sure they will be. Can't imagine Finn will be back by then, considering he called the lot of us abominations."

Rebekah didn't want to admit it but she knew her brother was right. Finn was always so quiet and reserved. It wasn't like him to have an outburst. She was sure that he had left the village by now with no intention of returning in the near future.

Kol glanced down at the ground for a minute before looking back up at Rebekah. "I don't wish to stay in the village sister. Our home, now only serves to remind me of what's become of our family," Rebekah looked deeply into her brother's eyes as he spoke, shocked by what Kol was saying. "I loved our mother. But Nature sees to it that no one living creature lives forever. Our mother spat in the face of Nature and its laws when she attempted to give us eternal life... Now I don't know for certain if there's a way to undo the dark magic our mother used to corrupt us. But if there is a way, I'll find it... I'm leaving in the morning with Ayana and her family. I want you to come with us Bekah."

"Our mother worked so hard to give us this gift, and you want to take it back?! Kol, she made us immortal as a way to protect us. Do you wish to share the same fate as Henrik, as Mother?"

Kol's nostrils flared. "You think this is a gift?! I can't feel the Earth any more. My magic, it's, it's gone! We drink blood as though its wine Rebekah! We crave it above all us and we kill people over it. And nothing ever satisfies the thirst! As much as I may drink, I still want more. This isn't right Bekah, we're not right. That's why we have to reverse it. This isn't a gift sister, it's a bloody curse! We are monsters, we're the beasts that mothers warn their children of, can't you see that?!" he bellowed.

Rebekah took a few steps back. She never saw her brother so angry before in her life. Her fun loving, older brother Kol, now had a temper. "I'm sorry Kol."

Kol's anger suddenly lessened. "It's alright. I shouldn't have.. I've been a little more irritable as of late... 'specially when I haven't had enough to drink."

Rebekah nodded slowly. "Your offer, to leave with you and Ayana. Does it extend to our brothers?"

Kol shook his head. "Father killed Mother, tore her still beating heart right out of her chest mercilessly. Only a matter of time before he comes after Nik, and when he does, I don't want to be caught in the crossfire. He hates Nik, always has, always will."

"So you would just abandon Nik then? Our own brother? Oh and what about Elijah?"

"Elijah will stay by Nik's side I'm sure of it. He's too moral to leave our brother to fend for himself," Kol stated firmly.

Rebekah couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But you're not moral. You would have no problem leaving them both behind. Why though, it's not like Father can kill us. You said yourself we're immortal now."

A look of worry swept over Kol's face. "Not entirely Bekah. I knew, A little while before Mother died, that Father carved out a piece of wood from the White Oak Tree. That tree gave us eternal life, and I'm certain that it can just as easily take it away. He has the means to kill us Bekah if he so wishes to. And I don't want to die a monster that has to drink the life of others to sustain itself."

"I won't leave Nik then. I can't. Not if Father's going to hunt him down and kill him," Rebekah replied, turning down Kol's offer.

Kol swallowed. "Alright then. You've made your choice and I've made mine. Tell the others what I've told you, say farewell for me."

"Stay with us Kol. You don't have to leave. We can stand together against our Father, as a family. No one has to run."

Silently, Kol turned around and stepped back into the hut. Rebekah looked up at the dark, night sky, spotting the chalky white moon hanging high. It was the first time in a long time that Rebekah didn't look at the full moon in fear. The werewolves were no longer a threat to her. Now the only threat posed to her life was her Father. But then what was the point of living forever, if her family wasn't going to stick together?


	5. Always and Forever

Author's Note: This chapter was originally going to be about Mikael killing Ansel and slaughtering half the village, but I figured not many people would be interested in reading that, so instead, here's a story about what Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah did after burying their mother. Enjoy.

Elijah threw another stick carefully into the fire he and Klaus just built. Rebekah sat on a log, crouched over with her arms folded over her lap, staring blankly into the fire. Klaus stood off to the side, having been distant towards his siblings ever since they finished burying their mother Esther earlier that day. Elijah couldn't help but worry about Klaus just a little more than what he was already worried about Rebekah. It wasn't like Klaus was any closer to Esther than what the rest of them were. But Klaus was the only one who bore witness to her murder at the hands of the man they once knew as Father. Not only that, but Klaus had just recently learned that he was a bastard. There was no telling what kind of effect that would have on him in the days to come.

"We can't stay in the village," Rebekah said quietly, breaking the silence. Both Elijah and Klaus turned their heads to look at their sister. "Kol, before he left, he told me Father carved a piece of wood from the White Oak Tree before we destroyed it. He now has the means to kill us, and I'm sure that's what his intention is."

Klaus' eyes widened at the new piece of information he'd just received. "Rebekah, how could you have not told us earlier?" Elijah asked with a concerned yet calm tone.

"I don't know why I didn't... I'm sorry."

"We have to leave our home by sunrise then. If Mikael finds us, we're all dead."

"We should leave sooner than that," Klaus interrupted. "'Lijah you didn't see what I saw. Father killed Mother without so much of a moment's hesitation."

A look of confusion fell on Elijah's face. "Do forgive me brother but, did Father not have this piece of White Oak wood on him when he killed our Mother? Surely he must have it on his person at all times, lest it fall into someone else's hands. Why would Father not just kill you both in fell one swoop?"

Klaus paused. "I don't know. Are you complaining of my survival brother?"

"Niklaus-"

"Would you both just shut up!" Rebekah shouted. Elijah swallowed and nodded. Klaus turned his head away from Rebekah, avoiding his sister's gaze. "Mother's only been dead for a day and this family has already fallen to pieces! Kol and Finn are gone, Father wants us all dead, we're all each other has now... We swore we would stay by one another's side always and forever. Did either of you actually mean it?"

Rebekah looked at her brothers, who nodded almost simultaneously. "Alright then. We'll gather everything we wish to take with us, and leave the village tonight."

"I insist we take Adrianne with us. If Tatia's blood was used in the ritual our mother preformed to snuff the wolf inside of me, perhaps her blood can be used to reverse it," Klaus stated.

Elijah suddenly looked at his younger brother with an appalled expression on his face. "You would harm the last thing that Tatia left behind on this Earth? To kidnap her own daughter to later use in some blood ritual to restore you—Niklaus, you can't possibly be serious."

Elijah desperately searched his brother's face for any glimmer of hope that his brother was lying. But he wasn't. "Oh, I'm very serious brother. Tatia is dead, Elijah. Our mother killed her. Her daughter may be my only hope of becoming an immortal wolf again. And afterwards, I may have enough power to protect us all from our murderous father. It's in our best interest."

Elijah couldn't believe the words coming out of Klaus' mouth. Klaus had loved Tatia just as much as he had, if not, moreso. He saw the way his brother looked at her. But he couldn't argue with his brother's logic. After all, he did play a part in repressing Klaus' werewolf side in the first place. It was his duty to help him in whatever way he could. "No harm is to come to Adrianne, brother. I will help you, always and forever, but not if it means destroying the life of an innocent."

"We'll do what we have to. Our only obligations are to one another, and no one else," Klaus replied, looking to Rebekah, who nodded nervously in agreement, and Elijah, who nodded more slowly, a look of deep pain on his face.


	6. Thank You

Author's Note: This story is set somewhere in Africa, sometime in the late 10th century, or possibly early 11th century as I'm not sure what year exactly the Mikaelsons became vampires. Thanks to everybody who's read every chapter of this story so far, (Even though my writing can be rather so-so at times) you're awesome.

"_I used to run with some witches. Africa in the fourteenth century, Haiti in the seventeenth century, New Orleans in the nineteen hundreds. They all knew about Silas; that he needed to stay buried. I actually hold witches in high esteem."_

_\- _Kol Mikaelson, _A View to A Kill_, The Vampire Diaries

Kol swallowed the last bit of fresh human blood that lingered in his mouth. He felt Ayana's heavy gaze on him; she had hardly taken her eyes off him since they arrived in the African village that they currently resided in days ago. She would never say it out loud, but Kol could tell – she was terrified of him. She got particularly scared whenever he was around her daughters. The thought that he was now nothing more than a monster in her eyes hurt him deeply.

Ayana wasn't just a friend of his dearly departed mother. Kol considered Ayana his first teacher and mentor. When he started displaying magical potential at the age of six, Ayana did more to help him learn how to control his powers than his own mother did. His own mother, that to Kol's way of thinking, was always more concerned about Finn, or Klaus, or Elijah, or Bekah, or even little Henrik, may he rest in peace. There was never any room in her heart for him.

Kol redirected his attention to the blood that drizzled from the two small open wounds near Ayana's left wrist. In spite of the fact that she now feared him, she allowed him to drink her and her husband's blood from time to time to sustain himself. She didn't want him killing any more innocent people and Kol respected that.

"Are you okay Ayana?" Kol asked her quietly.

Ayana breathed deeply. "I've been better."

Kol nodded, avoiding making eye contact with her. "I can only imagine."

Kol turned around, away from Ayana, and began making his exit from her home, when Ayana stopped him. "Kol, I'll tell you what you need to know now, about your immortality."

"What about it Ayana? What have you been holding back that you didn't tell me on the long trip here? I know how to manipulate the minds of others, I know to be careful who to give my blood to because apparently I can pass the wonderful gift of immortality to others-"

"There's a way to take it all back. I know that's what you want Kol, you've told me so. You want to regain your connection with Nature."

Kol's eyes widened. He listened closely to every word Ayana had to say, letting it play back in his head one more time, _a way to take it all back. _"How? Mother was a powerful witch, and the kind of spell she cast – such spells were never intended to be reversable. I think you know that as well as anyone."

"If I tell you, you must give me your word Kol, that you will leave my home within a week's time. You will never go near my children, or my children's children, for as long as my line should continue to exist. Do you understand?"

Kol was stunned by Ayana's request, taking a good solid minute to process it, before nodding in response. "Yes. You have my word."

Ayana took in another deep breathe. "There's a story that's been passed down in my family for generations. The story of the first truly immortal being, Silas.

"Centuries ago, there lived a beautiful woman named Qetsiyah. She was the most powerful witch in her coven. Many admired her, even more wanted to be her. Eventually, she caught the eye of a young warlock, Silas. Silas courted Qetsiyah, and wanted her to give them both ever lasting life, so their love for one another could last for eternity. Qetsiyah decided she would do so, on the day that they would be wed. Then Qetsiyah learned that Silas wanted to give immortality to another woman, that he had deceived her and used her magic for his own ends.

"Qetsiyah killed Silas' lover and buried him alive, leaving him powerless, immortal, and alone. But before she buried him, she left him with a spell that would make him mortal again. Silas would not have any of it, and swore he would punish Qetsiyah and the rest of the world when he's free again."

A conflicted look formed on Kol's face. "Do you know where Silas is buried?" he asked.

Ayana shook her head. "No."

"This spell that Qetsiyah buried Silas with, it was meant for Silas, not me. How can I be sure that it will even work?"

"It is your only hope of regaining your mortality," Ayana replied calmly.

Kol paused, then nodded. "...Thank you, Ayana."


End file.
